11 posts from September 2007

September 27, 2007

WOW... what a show! I'm sure I'm not the only who had their sleep cut short because of the intense lightning & thunder this morning. I didn't think it was going to end. I left the station around 1:00AM and had forecast showers & storms overnight, but I didn't expect such a show!

The clouds are starting to clear... a visible satellite from early afternoon show the clouds diminishing across Western KY & Southwest Indiana. It looks like we'll see a few peeks of sun before the day is done. Mostly sunny skies expected for tomorrow through the weekend.

I'll be back tomorrow on Sunrise... Tom is taking the day off. Andy is off this weekend and John continues with more time off next week... it's not been easy keeping up with all who's working & when! I appreciate the emails -- if you ever have any comments, questions or concerns you can post them to the blog or write them direct to me at kharned@wave3.com.

September 26, 2007

Wasn't it nice to see and feel the rain fall today? While most areas didn't see that much rain, there were a few places that picked up a fair amount. Some of you may have been jumping for joy... Singing in the rain... or Dancing in puddles.

Here is a view of the metro rain totals. Frankly, they were a little disappointing with only 0.08" falling at the Louisville International Airport. Areas that saw the heavier thunderstorms picked up higher totals.

It appears the rain chance will end by early Thursday as the front passes the area. This will bring an end the any rain chance too. I feel like the clouds will break soon enough for us to see some sunshine Thursday afternoon. Temperatures will remain in the upper 70s!

Under cloudy skies (with a few breaks) we may not be able to see tonight's full moon. It's the full Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the name given to the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox.

Even though the coloring depicts kids playing in the rain... I think it explains how we all feel about seeing today's rain. A much needed rain has finally arrived to the area.

While only a few areas, mainly across Indiana, picked up rain yesterday... today most areas will see at least some rain. Several places will get a decent amount. This map show the forecast for early afternoon. The heaviest rain for Louisville should be from mid afternoon through early evening.

Up to two inches of rain has fallen in parts of southwest Indiana. This has prompted flood warnings for a few places. This rain will move to the north and east throught the early afternoon and increase the chance of rain across our area.

THE NWS INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WARNING, UNTIL 1:00 PM CDT FORDAVIESS COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA...KNOX COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA...THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF VINCENNES...

It was another record-breaker... The high temperature at Louisville reached 95 degrees on Tuesday. The graphic with a high of 94 was true at 5:00... the actual high went up another degree to 95.

Rain chances will continue to go up through our Wednesday. This will be the best chance we've seen in sometime. Rain totals will differ depending on those that see the heavier storms. I think it's safe to say that most areas will see rain totals between 0.20" & 0.80".

Whether you believe in global warming or not, statistics show that the Louisville area was plenty hot.

National Weather Service data shows it was the second-hottest in Louisville's history with only the summer of 1936 hotter. The average that year was 81 degrees, or one degree warmer than this year.

The first three days of fall this year have not felt much different than summer, with record highs set each day. Sunday the temperature reached 96 degrees while on Monday & Tuesday it topped out at 95 degrees at Louisville International Airport, eclipsing the previous record highs for those dates.

Wedenesday will be cooler with showers & storms expected to bring welcome rain to the region!

September 25, 2007

Holy cow it was hot... very hot. Today was the second day in a row with heat the put us near the top of the list for the hottest places in the country. Yesterday we were one degree away from being the hottest. Today we were two degrees away! I don't think that's something to be too proud of.

In addition to the heat... it's been very dry. We're approaching October, on average, our driest month. We're running just over nine and half inches below normal for the year.

We track storms and you can see... storm fired up along the cold front that moving our way. This will do two things... #1 bring us a chance for rain (60% - 70%), especially Wednesday. #2 bring in seasonal temperatures (highs upper 70s to near 80) by mid to late week.

How about our new set & weather center! Have you seen it yet? I took this picture early last week during one of our rehearsals. It's state of the art... and we look forward to showing more of it off as the weeks roll on. Stay tuned for more changes in the coming weeks too! I think you're going to like what we have to show you. Let me know what you like or dislike about the new digs! Email me at kharned@wave3.com

September 22, 2007

A HEAVY SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE. RAIN AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW SHOWERS WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THIS AFTERNOON AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES NORTHEAST ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER TO NEAR 7500 FEET AND LOCAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 6 INCHES ARE LIKELY ABOVE 7500 FEET BY DAYS END. OVER THE HIGH COUNTRY SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 10 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE.

IT'S NOT THE RAINY SEASON, BUT MANY AREAS IN ARIZONA HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH SHOWERS & STORMS TODAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS POPPING UP THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS. THAT'S A RARE SIGHT IN ARIZONA, ESPECIALLY THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION 10 IS BRINGING RAIN TO PARTS OF THE SOUTHEAST. MANY OF THESE AREAS NOW SEEING THE RAIN HAVE BEEN IN THE CORE OF THE DRIEST CONDITIONS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THIS WILL NOT COME CLOSE TO BREAKING THEIR DROUGHT, BUT SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. HERE ARE SOME RAIN TOTALS THROUGH 1AM SATURDAY.

I STILL HAVE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS & STORMS IN OUR FORECAST FOR NEXT WEEK. IT STILL LOOKS LIKE TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY WILL BE THE BEST SHOT AT RAIN. HOW MUCH? STILL TOO EARLY TO TELL... LET'S SEE HOW MUCH MOISTURE FROM T.D. 10 MAKES IT UP TO INTERACT WITH THE COLD FRONT WHICH WILL USHER IN COOLER TEMPERATURES BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK!

THE START OF FALL IS 5:51 AM SUNDAY MORNING. CONTRARY TO THE CALENDAR IT WILL FEEL MORE LIKE SUMMER WITH NEAR RECORD HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S. THE RECORD FOR SUNDAY IS 93 DEGREES SET BACK IN THE 1800's.

AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX, THE SUN APPEARS TO CROSS THE CELESTIAL EQUATOR, FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. THIS MARKS THE BEGINNING OF AUTUMN IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

September 21, 2007

If you're a WAVE Watcher you've noticed that we've been broadcasting from our smaller studio, and delivering weather updates from our office over the past couple of months. Our large studio has been under construction! We've been gearing up for a new look and with a new set and new weather center. The first picture was taken from the studio in 1963... the second is the current news desk...

Here's a peek at the new set... you will see much more sometime on Monday (stay tuned - I'm not sure what show the new set will debut on, but it's scheduled to hit the air on Monday).

Heavy weather brought torrential rains, damaging winds and large hail to a broad swath of Minnesota on Thursday, and interrupted flights at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Tornado sirens sounded with numerous funnel clouds reported Thursday near the Twin Cities.

It doesn't take me to tell you that today's 93 degree high temperature was hot for this time of the year. As a matter of fact we'll be at or above 90 degrees straight through the weekend. We reach closest to the record on Sunday (record 93, forecast 92).

The weekend will feature very warm conditions across the Plains and into the Ohio Valley. The beginning of a pattern shift will take place in the Pacific Northwest with cooler temperatures rolling in there. Many folks will be keeping an eye on the Southeast for what may become Jerry. It's still early, but should it gather strength it could bring us some needed moisture early to mid next week. I'm not overly confident at this point and have only a small chance for showers in the forecast.

September 20, 2007

First... I began the day at the dentist. I'll just say that's not my favorite place to be... While Drs. Tim & Donna Rush and their staff are very good at what they do I'm not a big fan of the dentist. The trip to Mt. Washington treated me well though... no cavities and gas was only $1.71 a gallon.

Next... I was off to Bill Collins Ford. I was rear ended a few weeks ago and had to take my truck in to have the back bumper replaced. Not a big deal... but I'm driving a little car that's taking some adjusting, especially traveling alongside tractor trailers.

On to more important things... the weather! Here's the forecast for the overnight hours, Thursday & the next 7 days. You will notice there's really no break from the dry, hot weather until mid next week.

Highs Wednesday were 10 degrees above normal and flirting with the 90 degree mark. It appears that that will be the general forecast through the weekend. We've climbed to hot afternoon temperatures, but at least the humidity hasn't been all that bad.

I can't keep from thinking about how nice the weather was last weekend with highs in the 70s. That was just a preview of what will soon roll our way.

Checking the calendar... The Autumnal Equinox will take place on Sunday. This is the "official" beginning of Fall. We (meteorologists) condider the months of September, October & November to be Fall.

It's rained in Jacksonville, FL for the past three days. Flooding and high surf have been occuring at the coastal town. This storm, as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, could become "Jerry". Should this happen it would be the 10th named storm this year. Stay tuned to WAVE 3 News for more on this... We Track Storms!

September 18, 2007

Here's a sneak peek at the new set... You really can't tell much from this picture. I was sworn to secrecy and have blurred out the background. It's an awesome set - state of the art. Stay tuned... sometime on Monday you will see the reveal!

It looks like the 90s may make a return as early as tomorrow. This past weekend's "Fall-like" temperatures were just a tease. We've seen 58 days with highs at or above 90 degrees so far this year.

It wasn't the heat, but snow instead in Breckenridge, Colorado. Don't you know the skiers were pumped to see that. Unfortunately, it too was just a tease. Temperatures out west will warm up too!

I've computed the sunrise & sunset times for the next several weeks. This year Daylight Savings Time doesn't end until November 4th. Earlier sunsets... but not really early until November!

Here's the 14 day forecast. While there is always low confidence in a long-range forecast like this, sometime trends can be obtained. The hot pattern shows some signs of breaking down by October 1st. Will it be for good or just another temporary cool down? We'll have to wait and see!